Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Shahid Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor starrer Mausam, a hardcore romantic drama received mixed reviews, but it had a good start - the film has earned Rs 22 crore in the opening weekend.

Pankaj Kapoor's directorial debut, the film tracks the story of a couple forced to stay apart by socio-political situations.

and how after 10 years of separation they reunite and live happily after.

Made at a budget of Rs 35 crore, Mausam was released across 1,900 screens and earned Rs 22 crore over three days - Friday, Saturday and Sunday. People liked Shahid's performance and the story, but they found the film lengthy.

"The weekend has been good. We had 90 percent occupancy although it dropped on Monday. People are liking the content but the duration of the film is very long which acts as a deterrent," Puneet Sahay, senior manager for programming and operations at Spice Cinemas told IANS.

Some film critics have praised it, others have found the film an average one. Despite the average reviews, the film has got a decent response, says Munish Sharma of Satyam Cinemas.

"Although Mausam hasn't got a bumper start, the response to the film has been decent. The average reviews don't seem to have affected it as the response at the box-office has been good. Both Shahid and Sonam's acting is being appreciated," said Sharma.

Yogesh Raizada, corporate head (Cinemas) of Wave Cinemas, feels that the film lacks flow. "The film goes criss-cross. It lacks flow. Moreover its 2.45 hour duration makes it a tough watch although both Shahid and Sonam have played their parts nicely. The film has received a decent response in the NCR as both the actors have a good fan following, it failed to impress people in Uttar Pradesh," said Raizada.

On September 22, Mumbai Mirror told you how Shahid Kapoor, who along with his father Pankaj Kapur chalked out the guestlist for the Mausam premiere held on Thursday night, had invited his ex-girlfriends Priyanka Chopra and Vidya Balan.

The actor however, had decided to give Kareena Kapoor the royal snub. Looks like the actor got paid back in his own coins, albeit by the two ladies he had invited.

Despite the absence of his two ex-flames, Shahid's much-awaited movie of the year did manage to draw most tinsel townies out of their homes. Genelia D'Souza, Bipasha Basu, Sonakshi Sinha, Amisha Patel, Kangna Ranaut, Tabu, his Dil Bole Hadippa costar Rani Mukerji, Aayesha Takia and even Amrita Rao (who happens to be Shahid's ex-love as well) added some razzle dazzle to the show held at iMax Wadala.

A source informed Mumbai Mirror, "Vidya Balan was shooting for Dirty picture at a studio in Goregaon on Thursday evening. Though her co-star Tusshar Kapoor did take a break for a couple of hours to attend the birthday party of his Hum Tum Shabana producer Sunil Chainani, Vidya decided not to follow his example. She continued shooting for the film. On the other hand, Priyanka Chopra chose to perform with SRK at an awards function in Delhi and skip Shahid's movie premiere."

And it was not just his ex-flames who gave the premiere a miss. Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan, two actors Shahid has been bonding with really well of late, were conspicuous by their absence.

"It was shocking to see that neither Ranbir nor Imran turned up for the Mausam premiere. Everybody was talking about their absence in hushed whispers at the event," informed a source. Imran's wife Avantikaa however, did make an appearance with director Ayaan Mukerji.

Though some speculate that Ranbir might have given the premiere a miss because of Sonam Kapoor, the leading lady of the film, a friend of the actor defended him saying, "Shahid knew Ranbir wouldn't make it for the premiere. Ranbir was busy shooting in Chandivli."

A source revealed, "People at the event were speculating whether Imran missed the show because Mausam's first day collections are higher than Mere Brother Ki Dulhan." Distributor Aditya Choksi confirmed, "The collections of Mausam are 15 per cent higher than those registered by Mere Brother Ki Dulhan on day one."

Mausam, the directorial debut of India’s much feted actor Pankaj Kapur, has witnessed a good weekend at box office. The film, despite some scathing reviews by critics, managed to hold on and kept pulling in the crowds.

Though the response hasn’t been as good as it was expected, it is not bad either. The bums on seats haven’t been on the wane and that’s heartening news for the distributors. Starring Shahid Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor in the lead roles, Mausam rounded off its first weekend at theatres with a collection of approximately Rs. 21 crores nett. The movie reportedly raked in around 8 crore on its opening day; its collection dipped on Saturday, but picked up again on Sunday.

Shahid Kapoor can take heart from the fact that Mausam is his biggest opener at Box Office yet, even better than Kaminey or Badmaash Company.

Meanwhile, Mere Brother Ki Dulhan has emerged as a hit at box office.

The coming Friday would see the release of many films, but the ones that are likely to attract maximum footfalls are Force starring John Abraham and Hum Tum Shabana starring Minissha Lamba along with Tusshar Kapoor and Shreyas Talpade.